DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting presidents, prime ministers and top diplomats from more than a dozen countries to tout his international “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The list of attendees, according to a forum schedule, is heavy on the Middle East and South America. But it remains short on major U.S. allies from Europe, and the full membership list still isn’t clear. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also are with Trump.
Europe is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday following Trump’s dramatic reversal over Greenland the day before in Davos, where he scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland.
Here is the latest:
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has been involved in Middle East negotiations, gave a slide deck presentation at the Board of Peace launch that included real estate development plans by zones.
“We do not have a plan B,” Kushner said, adding that people in Middle East build cities in two or three years.
Trump, during his closing remarks, noted his own experiences in real estate.
He described Gaza as “this beautiful piece of property” and suggested his push for peace between Israel and Hamas “all began with the location.”
Ali Shaath, head of new technocratic government in Gaza, announced the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week.
Israel said in early December it would open the crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so.
Shaath spoke by video message to leaders at the forum.
The U.S. secretary of state praised the Board of Peace as “a group of leaders that is about action” and credited Trump for bringing it together.
“He’s not limited by some of the things that have happened in the past, and he’s willing to talk to or engage with anyone in the interest of peace,” Rubio said.
Rubio stressed the body’s job “first and foremost” is “making sure that this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.”
Then, Rubio said, it can look elsewhere.
With details of the board’s operations still unclear, Rubio described it is a work in progress.
“Many others who are going to join, you know, others either are not in town today or they have to go through some procedure internally in their own countries, in their own country, because of constitutional limitations, but others will join,” Rubio said.
Trump inaugurated his newly created Board of Peace with a handful of founding members but offered few details about its mandate and how the panel will work or might pursue efforts to end global conflicts.
Trump hailed the board as “something very, very unique for the world.”
Speaking at a ceremony to sign the board’s charter, Trump said it could work with the United Nations to resolve wars not only in the Middle East, where the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza was the genesis of the concept.
But he did not provide specifics about how the board would cooperate with the U.N.
A number of countries, many of them close U.S. allies, have expressed concerns Trump might want the board to supplant or rival the U.N. and have either refused to sign on or remained noncommittal.
The U.S. president concluded his remarks and he and leaders from Board of Peace nations are signing documents.
The White House billed the ceremony as a sort of charter launch, but no charter draft has been publicly released. Nor is a complete membership list clear yet.
Some invitees are still considering whether to join.
Trump reaffirmed the Board of Peace will start with a focus on Gaza but then look globally.
“I think we can spread out to other things as as we succeed with Gaza, we’re going to be very successful in Gaza,” he said, adding, “We can do numerous other things. Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.
“He promised again to work “in conjunction with the United Nations,” though he still criticized the U.N. for not doing enough historically.
“I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here, coupled with the United Nations, can be something very, very unique for the world,” Trump said.
The U.S. president says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza “is really coming to an end” and Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon amounts to “remnants.”
On Gaza, Trump said, “They’re down to little fires. We can put them out very easily.”
Trump acknowledged Hezbollah remains in Lebanon, but he downplayed the group’s strength.
“These are remnants. I call them remnants,” Trump said.
In his opening remarks praising the launch of his Board of Peace, Trump made a point to mention the United Nations.
He said “many nations” have been part of establishing the body.
Then he added, “We’ll work with many others, including the United Nations.”
Trump has been highly critical of the U.N. and withdrawn the U.S. from multiple international organizations, and he has expressed ambitions recently that the new international board can replicate if not compete with the U.N. as an international broker.
Trump initially billed his Board of Peace focused on Gaza. Then he said it could play alongside the U.N. as a global broker.
But the logo featured at the Davos event depicts North America and only parts of South America.
The White House and State Department in Trump’s second presidency also been highly focused on the Western Hemisphere, complete with Trump dubbing his approach the “Donroe Doctrine” as a play on the Monroe Doctrine established under the fifth U.S. president.
The U.S. president will pitch his new international body with heads of government and top diplomats from multiple continents.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also are with Trump.
The board initially was billed as part of the peace process for Israel and Gaza but Trump has since expanded his ambitions for the group, saying it can play a role mediating other international conflicts.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, one of the European countries that had faced Trump’s threat of tariffs over Greenland, said he supports talks between Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. but reaffirmed the Danish kingdom’s sovereignty.
“It is good news that we are making steps into that right direction,” Merz said at Davos. “I welcome President Trump’s remarks from last night — this is the right way to go.”
Trump’s core foreign policy advisers are expected to join him at the “Board of Peace” event, with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the room alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff and Kushner have been at the center of multiple international negotiations, with Kushner involved especially in Middle East despite not having an official White House role as he did in the first Trump presidency.
The U.S. president will host presidents, prime ministers and top diplomats from more than a dozen countries to tout his international Board of Peace.
The list of attendees, according to a World Economic Forum schedule, is heavy on the Middle East and South America. But it remains short on major U.S. allies from Europe and the full membership list still isn’t clear.
Among the heads of government: Argentina President Javier Milei and Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto, both Trump allies; Paraguay’s conservative President Santiago Peña; Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev; Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif; Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to their own peace deal at the White House last year.
Attendees also include ministers and diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Turkey and Morocco, among others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Davos to meet with Trump.
Zelenskyy is expected to make a speech and also participate in a panel discussion titled, “International Advisory Council for Ukraine’s Recovery.”
On the sidelines of the event, Zelenskyy is expected to meet with representatives of energy companies.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to speak at Davos on Thursday in a newly scheduled session.
The World Economic Forum, which Musk previously criticized, confirmed it will be the Tesla owner's first time attending the elite event in the Swiss Alps.
His address is billed as a conversation with Laurence Fink, BlackRock’s CEO and interim co-chair of the forum.
Musk is embroiled in a war of words with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary that began with a dispute over installing Starlink systems on Ryanair planes. O'Leary on Wednesday dismissed the tech titan’s suggestion he would buy the budget airline.
Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, after Trump walked back from imposing tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland and ruled out using military force to take control of the territory.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% on Thursday, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 53,760.85, with technology stocks among those leading the gain. SoftBank Group jumped 11% and chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 3.7%.
The NATO chief is urging allies to “keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine” after a standoff over Greenland that rattled the alliance appeared to ease a day earlier.
Rutte, speaking at the Ukraine breakfast, didn’t address a question about whether Greenland, which Trump has coveted, would remain a part of Denmark under the “framework of a future deal” announced by the president.
Rutte noted European plans to free up funds for Ukraine’s defense and U.S.-led talks about a peace deal, but said those efforts wouldn’t bear fruit immediately and Russia continues to launch drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
“What we need is to keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine. Let’s not drop that ball,” Rutte said.
Trump wants to spotlight his proposed "Board of Peace" at Davos on Thursday, looking to create momentum for a project that has been overshadowed this week by Greenland.
The new board initially was envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious. Skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some traditional U.S. allies to take a pass so far.
Trump expressed confidence in his idea ahead of what the White House said would be a “charter announcement” on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss Alps.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty.
She has been “informed that this has not been the case” following the announcement of a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland.
In a statement, the Danish leader said security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO and “good and natural” that it be discussed between the U.S. president and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Frederiksen said she has spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Trump is considering ideas like a “tariff-free zone” for Ukraine that could help industry develop in the war-torn country.
“The president has talked about a tariff free zone from Ukraine that I think would be game changing,” Witkoff told the Ukraine breakfast on the sidelines of Davos.
Witkoff made the comments before heading later Thursday to Moscow, where the administration has been working to wrest a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff said he would travel next to Abu Dhabi, where there would be working groups on issues like “military-to-military” and “prosperity” discussions.
Europe is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday following a dramatic reversal by U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland the day before at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland.
Trump said there is a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland. Still, there were many unanswered questions about what this Greenland deal means.
The Associated Press was inside an event Thursday morning billed as a breakfast discussing the war in Ukraine and featuring NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
AP World Economic Forum: https://apnews.com/hub/world-economic-forum
President Donald Trump, center, sits on stage with international leaders after the signing of a Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump is shown on a large screen as he speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump, right, greets leaders as he arrives for a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump arrives for a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump speaks during a session on the Board of Peace initiative of US President Donald Trump at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
From right, Ayman Al Safadi, Deputy PM of of Jordan, Prabowo Subinato, President of Indonesia, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov, Ilham Aliyev, President Donald Trump President of Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia and Javier Milei, President of Argentina pose during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks down stairs after a meeting during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, center right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center left, during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump, right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump reacts after a meeting during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
